Announced for a US release date of September 19th for the Nintendo DS, Contact promises to be yet another strong entry for the Nintendo DS as an action RPG platform.
An eccentric inventor calling himself "The Professor" has managed to construct his own spaceship. However, he is caught in the middle of an interplanetary firefight and ends up crash-landing on a mysterious planet.
In the aftermath of the crash, The Professor discovers that the power sources of his ship, known as Cells, have been scattered across the surface of the planet. To collect enough Cells to return home, The Professor enlists the aid of a brave young man named Terry—and a brave video game player known as you.
You, as the player, are treated as a separate character in the Contact universe; The Professor and Terry will ask for your help during the course of the adventure, using the Nintendo DS to "contact" you along the way.
The game promises to have a very off-beat but fun sense of humor-- in addition to the comedic elements granted by breaking the fourth wall, and the whimsical character and level design, the game's sense of humor extends to the instruction manual, which is presented as if it were a LiveJournal-like blog from The Professor.
In Contact, combat is done in real-time, and so is the experience and stat gains. For instance, when Terry takes damage, his defense increases; as he damages an enemy, his strength increases.
Terry can also enhance his abilities by equipping various costumes, such as that of a fisherman, a cook, a pilot and so on. These costumes will increase Tery's base statistics as well as grant him magic powers and special abilities.
Outside of the costume-based skills, Terry also has weapon-based skills that also level up through frequent use. Each enemy has its own weak-point Terry can hit for massive damage, and battle strategy will require switching weapons on-the-go at times.
It has also been announced that Contact will support a type of multiplayer mode via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. In the single player adventure, upon reaching WiFisland, all friends who have been contacted through friend codes appear as NPCs, sharing tips and items. Up to 8 players can be stored as NPCs in the WiFisland.
Contact has all the potential to be a breakout "sleeper" hit for the DS. Be sure to check back at www.411Mania.com/games/ for more previews and a review of the full game soon! In the meantime, click below to see more of the exclusive character artwork and screenshots.
